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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26163844">You Were Just Nearby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittens/pseuds/Kittens'>Kittens</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Hux comic, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:40:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26163844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittens/pseuds/Kittens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux can't stop thinking about why Kylo Ren saved him</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>118</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Were Just Nearby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy one year Hux comic anniversary!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>”You saved me.”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“Not intentionally. I saved myself. You were just nearby.”</i>
</p>
<p>Hux couldn’t stop thinking about their crash landing and how Ren saved him. Intentional or not, he owed Ren his life. It would have been so easy for Ren to let him die in the crash, or later, he could have let those creatures attack him. But he’d acted quickly and he’d protected Hux again.</p>
<p>Not that Ren had done much good, but Hux could still see him turning to face the creatures, preparing to attack and yelling for Hux to get behind him. He’d wanted to protect him and he hadn’t even thought about it.</p>
<p>For someone who claimed to hate him, Ren was certainly protective.</p>
<p>Hux knew Ren wouldn’t explain himself, but he found himself going to his quarters anyway. He’d been unable to focus on his work and he knew he’d be unable to sleep. But maybe Ren would let something slip, because Hux couldn’t figure it out. No one had ever tried to protect him before except for Rae Sloane. And even that had been because she wanted something from him.</p>
<p>But what could Ren possibly want? Hux would have thought Ren would have wanted him dead. They were constantly arguing and Hux knew he made Ren’s life more difficult, although all he asked was that Ren go through the proper channels to get things done.</p>
<p>Hux stood outside Ren’s door, wondering if it was a bad idea to go to him at all. It probably was, but he needed to know why Ren had saved him.</p>
<p>
  <i>”Not intentionally.”</i>
</p>
<p>He’d probably say the same thing. But Hux knew he was lying. Why save Hux when the pilot had also been nearby. He could have saved him as well. Or he could have saved him instead of Hux. But he hadn’t. He chose to save Hux and Hux didn’t think it was an accident.</p>
<p>The door opened and Ren stood there, helmetless and shirtless. It seemed like everytime Hux visited Ren’s private quarters, he was in a state of undress. Did he simply not wear clothes when he was alone?</p>
<p>“What do you want?” Ren demanded.</p>
<p>“I wanted to talk to you,” Hux said, pushing past Ren, trying not to think about just how warm his body was. Although they’d stood close to each other before, they had enough layers between them that Hux couldn’t feel Ren’s body heat. Now, Hux could feel it seeping through his uniform.</p>
<p>“Why?” Ren asked.</p>
<p>“I’ve been thinking about the other day. About how you saved me.”</p>
<p>“It was -”</p>
<p>“Yes, not intentional,” Hux interrupted. “I know. So why did you save me later from those creatures?”</p>
<p>“I didn’t.”</p>
<p>“That’s true, but you did try.”</p>
<p><i>”Hux! Get behind me!</i> </p>
<p>Even through his mask, Hux had been able to detect fear in his voice. He was afraid. That Hux would be killed. </p>
<p>“Why do you care?” Ren asked.</p>
<p>Hux didn’t have an answer for that, just as Ren didn’t seem to be able to explain why he’d wanted to save him. It shouldn’t matter why Ren had done it. The important thing was that he had and that he’d made it back to the ship to take care of Brooks. There was no need to question it further.</p>
<p>But Hux had to know.</p>
<p>Even if he just had orders from Snoke, Hux wanted to know. But if he’d been ordered to protect him, why wouldn’t he have just said that? Why was he deflecting the question? Ren walked away from him, but Hux couldn’t leave it alone.</p>
<p>“Ren,” he called, and he turned back. “Just tell me why.”</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter,” he mumbled, looking away.</p>
<p>“It does,” Hux said. “It matters to me.”</p>
<p>Ren was silent and Hux stepped closer to him. There was one reason Hux could think of that would explain everything. Why Ren had saved him and why he was so reluctant to tell him the reason. It would even explain why Ren always seemed to be around, which Hux had always put down to him wanting to irritate him. But maybe it was something more.</p>
<p>Hux knew it was more likely he was projecting his own feelings. He wanted Ren to feel the same way as he did, but he knew that couldn’t be possible. Ren had never expressed even the least bit of interest in him, not even in working together as professionals. There couldn’t be anything between them besides animosity.</p>
<p>But Hux couldn’t get the image of Ren standing over him, hand outstretched, protecting him. He’d saved him from a ship crash, one that would have surely killed him. But Ren used his powers, lowered them down to the ground safely.</p>
<p>
  <i>”Not intentionally. I saved myself. You were just nearby.”</i>
</p>
<p>Hux knew that was a lie, just as he’d known the ship had not malfunctioned on its own. There had been a reason behind that and there was a reason behind Ren’s actions. Hux knew that Ren would never tell him why. The safest thing to do was to just let it go and forget about it. Maybe the next time Ren took a ship or equipment without properly documenting it, he could forgive him and simply fill out the forms himself.</p>
<p>For saving his life, Hux could do all of Ren’s paperwork forever. It wasn’t as if he minded doing it. Usually, he only got on Ren’s case about it because he wanted an excuse to talk to him, even if it was just to argue. </p>
<p>Now, Hux thought Ren might feel the same about him. It didn’t seem possible, but Hux had to know, and there was only one way to find out. He stepped forward, feeling Ren’s heat through his uniform as he grabbed Ren by his face and pressed his lips against Ren’s.</p>
<p>Ren simply stood there, but he didn’t push Hux away. When Hux pulled back from the  kiss, he stayed pressed up against him, letting his hands fall to Ren’s shoulders. Stars, he was warm and Hux couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to sleep next to that furnace of a man.</p>
<p>“You… you kissed me,” Ren said.</p>
<p>“You were just nearby,” Hux said with a smile and then he leaned forward to kiss him again. This time, Ren kissed him back.</p>
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